To Prosper and Rise
by Mewffie
Summary: Four kits were left in the territories of the four Clans, their parents had recieved a dream from strange cats who walked among the stars. They were told that each of their kits had a destiny in each of the four Warrior Clans, a destiny that no ordinary cat could fulfill. This is the story of their lives, and how they rose up through the ranks of their Clans to prosper. -ON HIATUS-
1. Allegiances and Prologue

Prologue and Allegiances

**A/N: First of all, I would like to thank you all for checking out my fic! Just a heads-up, I won't update too quickly, I have school, homework, chores, more chores, and orchestra. I'm pretty busy, but I'll try to update every four days or so, expect more frequent updates on the weekends!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Warriors or its offical characters. I do however, own all nessecary OC's and this plot-line.**

**And now on with the story!**

* * *

**Allegiances**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader: **Bramblestar- Dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes.

**Deputy:**Squirrelflight- Dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Jayfeather- Gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

**Warriors:**

Brackenfur- Golden brown tabby tom

Sorreltail- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Cloudtail- Long-haired white tom with blue eyes

Brightheart- White she-cat with ginger patches

Thornclaw- Golden brown tabby tom  
Apprentice: Dewpaw

Leafpool- Light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, former medicine cat

Spiderleg- long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

Birchfall- Light brown tabby tom

Whitewing- White she-cat with green eyes

Berrynose- Cream colored tom

Hazeltail- small gray-and-white she-cat  
Apprentice: Seedpaw

Mousewhisker- Gray-and-white tom

Lionblaze- golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Foxleap- Reddish tabby tom

Icecloud- white she-cat  
Apprentice: Amberpaw

Toadstep- black-and-white tom

Rosepetal- dark cream she-cat  
Apprentice: Lilypaw

Briarlight- dark brown she-cat

Blossomfall- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Bumblestripe- very pale gray tom with black stripes  
Apprentice: Snowpaw

Ivypool- Silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

Cherryleaf- Ginger she-cat

Moleclaw- Brown-and-cream tom

**Apprentices:**

Lilypaw- dark tabby she-cat with white patches

Seedpaw- Very pale ginger she-cat

Snowpaw- White tom with amber eyes

Amberpaw- Pale gray she-cat with a white muzzle, paws, right ear, and amber eyes

Dewpaw- Gray tom with amber eyes

**Queens:**

Cinderheart- Smokey gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to Lionblaze's kits: Darkkit- black tom with blue eyes, and Honeykit- Pale golden tabby she-kit with amber eyes)

Dovewing- Pale gray she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to Bumblestripe's kits: Streamkit-Light gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes, Stormkit- Gray tabby tom with deep green eyes, and foster mother to Bluekit- Dark blue-gray she-cat with strange silver markings and green eyes)

**Elders:**

Graystripe- Long-haired gray tom

Sandstorm- Pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

Dustpelt- Dark brown tabby tom

**ShadowClan**

**Leader:** Rowanstar- Ginger tom

**Deputy:** Ratscar- Brown tom with a long scar across his back

**Medicine Cat:** Littlecloud- Very small brown tabby tom

Apprentice: Wolfpaw- Reddish-brown she-cat with black underbelly and amber eyes

**Warriors:**

Oakfur- small brown tom

Smokefoot- black tom

Toadfoot- dark brown tom

Crowfrost- black-and-white tom

Snowbird- pure-white she-cat

Tawnypelt- tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Olivenose- tortoiseshell she-cat

Owlclaw- light brown tabby tom  
Apprentice: Mistpaw

Scorchfur- dark gray tom

Tigerheart- dark brown tabby tom

Dawnpelt- cream-furred she-cat

Pinenose- black she-cat  
Apprentice: Sparrowpaw

Ferretclaw-cream-and-gray tom

Starlingwing- ginger tom

Kinkfur- tabby she-cat, with long fur that sticks out at all angles

Ivytail- black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

**Apprentices:**

Mistpaw- Pale gray she-cat with spiky fur

Sparrowpaw- Large brown tabby tom

**Queens:**

Shrewfoot- gray she-cat with black feet (Mother of Owlclaw's kit: Sycamorekit- Dusky brown tabby tom with amber eyes )

Applefur- mottled brown she-cat (Mother of Crowfrost's kit: Shadekit- solid brown tom with black ears, paws, tail, and muzzle. Foster mother to Nightkit- Pure black she-kit with reddish-purple eyes)

**Elders:**

Cedarheart- dark gray tom

Tallpoppy- long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

**WindClan**

**Leader:** Onestar- brown tabby tom

**Deputy:** Crowfeather- dark gray tom

**Medicine Cat: **Kerstrelflight- mottled gray tom

**Warriors**:

Owlwhisker- light brown tabby tom

Whitetail- small white she-cat

Gorsetail- very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

Weaselfur- ginger tom with white paws

Harespring- brown-and-white tom

Leaftail- dark tabby tom, amber eyes

Emberfoot- gray tom with two dark paws

Heathertail- light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Sedgewhisker- light brown tabby she-cat

Swallowtail- dark gray she-cat

Sunstrike- tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead

Whiskerdust- light brown tom

Furzefeather- gray-and-white she-cat

Boulderfoot- large pale gray tom

**Queens:**

Ashfoot- gray she-cat, former deputy (Mother to Onestar's kits: Pebblekit- mottled dusky gray tom with dark gray front paws and amber eyes, Moorkit- brown tabby tom with green eyes, Foster mother to Rainkit- dappled golden-brown she-kit with dark brown front paws and blue eyes)

**RiverClan**

**Leader:** Mistystar

**Deputy:** Reedwhisker- black tom

**Medicine Cat- **Mothwing- dappled golden she-cat

Apprentice: Willowshine- gray tabby she-cat

**Warriors:**

Graymist- pale gray tabby she-cat

Mintfur- light gray tabby tom

Icewing- white she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice: Podpaw

Mallownose- light brown tabby tom

Robinwing- tortoiseshell-and-white tom

Petalfur- gray-and-white she-cat  
Apprentice: Curlpaw

Grasspelt- light brown tom

Hollowflight- dark brown tabby tom

Mossyfoot- brown-and-white she-cat

Rushtail- light brown tabby tom

Duskfur- dark brown tabby she-cat

**Apprentices:**

Podpaw- light brown tom with yellow eyes

Curlpaw- golden brown she-cat with amber eyes

**Queens:**

Minnowtail- dappled dark gray-and-white she-cat with amber eyes (Mother of Mintfur's kits: Splashkit- dappled gray she-kit with dark gray patches, Lakekit- pale gray tom with dark gray paws, tail-tip and dark blue eyes, Tidekit- pale silvery-white she-kit with blue tabby stripes and ice blue eyes, Foster mother to Stonekit- pale blue-gray tom with blue eyes, broad shoulders, head, and a fluffy tail)

**Elders:**

Mosspelt- tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

**Cats outside The Clans**

Grim- Large golden tom with black left ear, front right paw, tail-tip, and green eyes. Loner and also Lace's mate.

Lace- Blue-gray she-cat with silver patches and long, silky fur, ice-blue eyes. Loner and also Grim's mate

* * *

Prologue

The kit thumped against her soft chest fur as she slunk among the heavy undergrowth, hoping her fur wouldn't snag, which wasn't easy. Her long, silky pelt made that nearly impossible.

_This isn't that bad, right? You're doing this for Mystic, her destiny to prosper and rise lies here, you're doing this to give her a better life._

The she-cat replayed these thoughts over-and-over again in her head, trying to convince herself that this was right, to give up her kits to the clans.

It _had_ to be right. StarClan had told her so.

She just hoped that she wasn't crazy, but her mate had had the dreams as well, they couldn't be fake.

After a while, she found the perfect spot to hide her kit, slowly padding up the the small hollow in the roots of an achient oak. She gently dropped her kit in the hollow, pressing her muzzle to Mystic's forehead in farewell.

_I will never forget you, my little kit_.

She pulled her head away and watched in amazement as the kit opened its dazzling green eyes for the first time. A tear fell from her eye as she watched her kit bat her paws at the air, stopping after a while to stare at the cat in front of her.

"My little Mystic," The she-cat murmered, sorrow clouding her gaze as she nuzzled the kit one last time.

"Be strong." With that she turned and slowly padded away, not caring what brambles and thorns snagged on her pelt.

"I will never forget you.."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry the prologue is so short! I promise the other chapters will be longer! I'm planning on having them about 1,000-2,000K each. Also, if you didn't understand what just happened, here's a breif recap:**

**A random she-cat and her mate recieved a sign from StarClan, telling them to give up their kits to the clans because they had a destiny to fulfill there. So basically random she-cat was just being all emotional about leaving one of her kits, Mystic.**

**By the way, they're all loners.**

**Can you guess who Mystic is?**

**And PLEASE review, this is my first Warriors fanfic and I'm hoping for good feedback!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N: Yay! Quick update! I'm really happy about this, I already got 19 views! But no reviews :(. Please, if you have anything to comment on, critique, or suggest, I would really appreciate a review. And I know some cats are missing, but I'm not 100% sure which cats died in RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan, so I'm mainly just guessing. And I realize that the other clans, not ThunderClan, don't have any apprentices. I blame the real books for only listing the kits of ThunderClan queens. But don't worry, I'll check the Warriors Wiki to see if I can find kits that need to be apprenticed.**

**Wow, I just kind of wasted your time.  
Yeah...Sorry bout' that!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or any of its offical characters. I do, however, own any nessecary OC's and this plot-line.**

**And now on with the story!**

Nightkit's POV: 

"_Kittypet!" _ He sneered, swiping at my ear with his claws un-sheathed.

"Am not!" I yelled in protest, blood slowly trickling out of the nick in my ear and running down the side of my face. Stupid 5-moon-old Sycamorekit. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

"Bye bye, stupid kittypet. _I'm_ going to go hang out with the apprentices." He sauntered off towards where the apprentices usually ate fresh-kill, in the shade of the Great Tree. Rowanstar usually makes his announcements from its' branches. Anger flared in my eyes as I watched Sycamorekit play-fight with Sparrowpaw, easily getting pinned under the larger tom's weight.

"Go back to the nursery where you belong." The apprentice cuffed him over the ear before padding back over to sit by his sister, Mistpaw. Sycamorekit slowly padded away from the apprentices, his head down and tail drooping.

_Ha! He finally got what he deserved!_ Nightkit thought in her head, dropping into a battle crouch that Mistpaw had taught her. A low growl rumbled in her throat and her strange-colored eyes narrowed, skinny tail lashing back and forth all the while.  
And then, she sprung, landing square on Sycamorekit's broad shoulders. Her suprisingly sharp claws dug into his skin, and she scratched his back with her un-sheathed hind paws. A wail of pain sounded from the below her as her claws mercilessly hurt him. Soon his back become too slippery to stand on so she neatly jumped off and landed on all fours while Sycamorekit ran, crying, to Shrewfoot, his mother. She licked his ears worriedly and glared at Nightkit, flattening her ears. But she just shrugged it off and padded over Mistpaw and Sparrowpaw.

"Did you see that! Did you see that!" She squeaked excitedly while Mistpaw just had a glint of amusement in her blue eyes.

"Yes, I did. And I see that you perfected that crouch I taught you." The she-cat purred at the kit as she watched her turn to Sparrowpaw.

"I have to admit, that was pretty good, for a 3 moon-old kit." He rumbled, flicking his tail over the kit's shoulder. Nightkit smiled at the praise as more warriors stared at her, some shocked, and some disapointed. She held her head high and padded around the camp, the same stupid grin on her face.

**Stonekit's POV:**

I stared down into the water, shuffling my paws and tracing patterns into the muddy bank. Every now and then a flash of silver would announce the presence of fish, most likely minnows. I didn't even try to catch any, I just liked to look at the beauty of the stream. My thoughts wandered freely unlike myself, memories floating through my mind. But there was one memory that I didn't understand. The one where I first opened my eyes and saw Mistystar. What I had seen wasn't strange, or weird, but what I had heard. I remember Mistystar just staring at me for while.  
"Stonefur..." She had whispered, but I don't think I was supposed to hear that, but I did. Almost instantly questions had raced through my mind. Who was Stonefur? Why had Mistystar called my that? Was that my Warrior name? That last one was new, I didn't really know much at all about the Clans back then.

I just shrugged it off and padded away from the stream, towards the nursery. At the last second, I had an idea, and veered off towards the Elders' den. Outside of the den RiverClan's only Elder, Mosspelt, was sunning herself.

"Hey Mosspelt!" I yelled, bounding over to the tortoiseshell she-cat. She lazily licked her paw and drew it over her ear before replying.

"Yes Stonekit?" Mosspelt asked, turning her blue gaze on me.

"I have a question to ask you." I sat down and curled my fluffy tail around my paws, eagerly looking up at the Elder, who nodded for him to continue.

"Who's Stonefur?"

**A/N: I have a feeling that this chapter is short. I can't tell because WordPad dosen't have word count. Anyways, I just love Stonekit! He's so mature and adorable.**

**Please favorite, follow, rate, and REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: First things first, I AM EXTREMELY SORRY ABOUT THE LATE UPDATE!  
Volleyball has started, so add that to the list of things that make me a busy person.  
I would like to thank my one and only reviewer, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, and especially thank you for not just saying 'great story', you critiqued my writing and gave a question to answer, and to me, as my first **_**ever**_** review, that's a big deal. I'll answer your question below, and its going to be long.**

**Bluekit and Stonekit are sort of like reincarnations, but they're not like Cinderheart. I just liked Bluestar as a character and thought that we should get to see a little bit more of Stonefur, so named them in honor of those cats. Nightkit isn't a reincarnation or named in honor, I'm not really a fan of Nightstar. And as for Rainkit; She's not named after anybody, I just thought that name fit her. Origanally, Rainkit was going to be Wildkit, a black she-kit with yellow eyes, but I thought I'd add some color to the fur colors of the four main characters, who are Bluekit, Stonekit, Nightkit, and Rainkit. And to answer your other question, I think I'm going to stick with two kits' POV's per chapter for a while at least. I'm still pretty young and It's hard for me to come up with ideas before the main plot happens, which starts around the end of their apprentice-ship. I'll be improving more because I roleplay on a different forum a lot.**

**On another note, I decided to change the allegiances just a tiny bit; I realized that having Ivypool as a queen would be a bit strange later on, so I swapped her out for Cinderheart. It makes more sense, anyways. And I kept Darkkit, he's just Cinderheart's kit now, along with a newly-added kit, Honeykit.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or any of its offical characters. I do, however, own this plot line and any nessecary OC's.**

**And now on with the story!**

* * *

**Bluekit's POV:**

"Brightheart! Brightheart!" I yelled, scampering over to the ginger-and-white warrior, who was currently looking through the fresh-kill pile.

"Aha!" She smiled in satisfaction and picked up the magpie that she had been searching for in her jaws, padding over to a spot in the shade of the fallen beech tree. Brightheart settled down and took a large bite out of the fresh-kill, closing her one eye in pleasure as it's flavor seeped over her tongue.

It seemed as if I would never get the warrior's attention, so I did what only a kit would do. I crouched down and crept over to the roots of the beech, squeezing through the small hole that only me and Streamkit knew about. Despite my sister's delicate and soft look, she was the most mischevous and reckless out of all the kits in the nursery. My brother, Stormkit, was more of the type that thinks things through and never gets in trouble. But he was the best fighter, I was the best hunter, well my hunting crouch and stealth since I can't leave camp to hunt, and Streamkit was the best negotiator. She had a way with words and could convince you to do anything.  
I wiggled my body a bit more and finally reached the space between the fallen tree and the stone hollow. My eyes widened as I stared up at the tree, swirling lines engraved in it's soft bark. I didn't exactly understand what all those strange carvings meant, but I had a feeling they were special, significant in some sort of way.

I shrugged the thought off and unsheathed my tiny claws, which were suprisingly sharp despite how young I was, and hooked them into the first claw-hold. It was a struggle, climbing up the trunk, especially since I was trying not to damage the carvings in any sort of way. Finally, after slipping a few times and sadly wrecking a few engraved lines, I reached the top and pulled myself up.

I swear that you could see _everything_ from there, even though I wasn't even close to halfway up the hollow, it was still a breath-taking view. I slowly walked over to the roots, where Brightheart was finishing her meal in the shade of. My tiny paws slid a bit on the smooth wood, but I didn't mind. Somehow I knew that I wouldn't fall, maybe it was instinct, telling me to trust myself not to stumble.

I liked those instincts, and knew they would help me when I was a warrior, proving me to be a great climber.

"Brightheart!" I yelled quickly once I reached the roots, trying to catch the she-cat's attention.

It didn't work, Brightheart continued to focus on her half-eaten magpie.

"Brightheart! Brightheart, Brightheart!" I yelled again, bouncing up and down on one of the thicker roots, shaking it. It brushed against her back and she flinched, suprised. She turned her one eye to face me, amusement glittering in her eyes.

"Now, tell me, how in the name of StarClan did you get up there?" Brightheart asked, tipping her head to the side.

"I climbed." I answered proudly, puffing out my chest and keeping my chin high.

"Well, I've never met a cat so young that could climb _that_ high. I can already tell you're going to be a great warrior." At the ginger-and-white she-cat's praise, I lifted my chin and puffed out my chest, proud of my climbing feat. Suddenly, a yowl rang out across the hollow and I pricked my ears towards highledge, where the sound had come from. Bramblestar stood on the edge of the outcrop, amber eyes shining as he gazed down at his clan.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High Ledge for a clan meeting."

I looked over at Brightheart as she quickly finished the last few bites of her magpie and bounded over to join Cloudtail and Thornclaw, who had their heads bent close together, deep in conversation. I decided not to follow, they were probably discussing warrior things, and I didn't want to get in the way or bother them. So instead I padded over to join Streamkit, who had quickly bounded out of the nursery, ears perked.

"Did I miss anything?" The pale silvery tabby she-kit asked, panting a bit from her run.

"Nope, the meeting's just started." I answered, stifling laughter at her messy fur that stuck up at nearly every angle possible.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want. I was practicing my fighting skill with Stormkit." My ears turned towards the direction of slower pawsteps, slightly drowning my sister's words. Out of the corner of my eye I could see our brother padding towards us with calm steps.

"I was the one that won most of the time, which explains her ruffled pelt." Stormkit mewed, humor lighting his gaze as he gently cuffed Streamkit over the ear.

"Well, I did say we were _practicing_, mouse-brain." The she-kit licked her chest fur, trying to smooth it back into place. Stormkit shrugged and sat down on my other side, focusing his attention on Bramblestar.

"Today is one of the ceremonies that represents the clan growing stronger, new warriors being brought through the training that generations of cats have gone through before." The leader spoke strongly, gazing at two cats that were blocked from my view.

"Darkkit, Honeykit, please step forward." Jealousy burned deep in my chest as I watched two of my denmates step into the center of the clearing, pelts sleek and groomed. _They're being made apprentices!_

"Darkkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Darkpaw. I have chosen Brackenfur to mentor you. I hope he will pass down all he knows on to you." Bramblestar said after bounding down the rock pile that led to highledge. Brackenfur looked sruprised, as if he had no idea about being given another apprentice, but padded forward on sure-footed paws as he touched noses with Darkpaw. The newly-named apprentice's eyes were glimmering with happiness and excitement, but the emotion showed nowhere else as he cooly padded over to his mother, Cinderheart. She licked his ears as Lionblaze gazed proudly at his son.

"Honeykit, you are also six moons of age, and you are ready to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Honeypaw. Your mentor will be Birchfall. I hope that he will pass down all that he knows to you." Honeykit bounded forward on energetic paws to touch noses with her mentor, who looked even more surprised than Brackenfur had been.

"Darkpaw! Honeypaw! Darkpaw! Honeypaw!" I raised my muzzle and cheered along with the rest of the clan, even though I felt a deep feeling of jealousy inside me. I just wanted to be an apprentice so badly!

**Rainkit's POV:**

I couldn't help but wince as a patrol of warriors entered the camp, scratches and blood on their pelts.

"What happened!?" I yelled, concerned, as I bounded over to my half-brother, Crowfeather.

"It was just a little border skirmish, nothing that we couldn't handle." He answered, tail flicking back and forth casually.

"Those mangy RiverClan warriors won't be coming back for a while!" Boulderfoot, one of the newer warriors, agreed.

"But still, Reedwhisker gave me a nasty scratch." Heathertail complained, turning to look at a deep gouge on her side. I looked up at the wound, hissing in disgust as a small bead of blood dripped off of the tabby she-cat's fur and landed on my back.

"I think I'm going to get Kerstrelflight now." I mewed loudly, bounding over to the medicine cat's den in the crevice of one of the large boulders in camp.

"Rainkit, what do you need?" The medicine cat asked when I had entered his den.

"One of the patrols just came back, they had a fight with RiverClan!" I squeaked, bushing out my dappled fur with my tail sticking straight out. Kerstrelflight nodded and went back farther into the rock to where the herbs were kept, picking up a good-sized bundle of marigold and wrapping a large wad of cobweb around one forepaw.

"Rainkit, can carry this horsetail out for me?" the tom's voice was muffled through the herbs as he pointed to a smaller stack of it with his tail. My small paws scuffed on the ground as I bounded towards the herbs excitedly, picking up the little bundle of horsetail in my jaws. Kerstrelflight left his den with me bouncing on my paws in his trail. The medicine cat went straight to Heathertail, seeing that the gash on her side was the most serious injury on any of the cats in the patrol. He set the marigold down softly , keeping a few leaves in his mouth to chew them into a poultice. He gently smeared it onto the cut, muttering a 'sorry' as Heathertail flinched from the sting. Once the medicine had been applied, he carefully unwrapped a few cobwebs from his paw, spreading and covering them over the wound.

"There, you should be able to return to normal warrior duties in a few days. In the mean time, don't mess with it too much, and if it starts to hurt too much come and see me." Kerstrelflight finished up with the rest of Heathertail's wounds quickly and dismissed her to rest.

Soon all four cats had been seen to, horsetail used on the smaller scratches and marigold for the larger, deeper wounds that were more likely to get infected. I felt proud, being able to help for once was a good feeling. I had learned so much, about a few herbs and how to use them correctly. Everything seemed to come naturally to me, as if I was meant to cure the sick and heal the wounded. It seemed my destiny had been layed out before I even knew it, and even though I wanted to be like Crowfeather and follow in his footsteps, I had a feeling that I was destined to be a medicine cat.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Once again, a late update. Sorry about that! I planned to update this every one to two weeks, but now its been more like three. I had spring break, and it's only one week long, and I spent that week in Oregon, so I couldn't update. And I was lazy.**

**At least I got another review! At this rate I'll get one review for each chapter, and that's not exactly good. So feel free to review, I would greatly appreciate it.**

**Also, I tweaked the allegiances again. It turns out I forgot to add Sorreltail into it. Sorry if I made think that she was dead!**

**Nightkit's POV:**

Things were better now since I had finally stood up to Sycamorekit. He still taunted me, of course, but only when he was in eyesight and earshot of his mother, Shrewfoot, and my own mother wasn't around to hear his cruel words. Shrewfoot seemed to encouage his truculent behavior, and I soon grew to have a burning hatred for the gray she-cat. It just wasn't right, letting your kit bully its own denmate and scold the poor victim when they finally cracked and retaliated. Applefur had scolded me as well when Shrewfoot had told her what I had done to Sycamorekit, but praised me later when his mother couldn't hear. She was proud that I had stuck up for myself and that I showed large potential in combat. Shadekit had admired my courage to act so defiantly, when I was still untrusted for being of non-ShadowClan blood. Sycamorekit had bullied my brother as well, calling him 'kittypet lover', just because he cared for me, because I was his sister. Although he picked on Shadekit less frequently and less harshly, Shadekit had struck out just as I did, except for with words, and was left alone.

I had finally been given a moon a peace, a moon where Sycamorekit's taunts and insults could no longer reach my ears. Partially because his bullying happened a lot less, Shadekit had made sure of that, and because I had started to build an emotional barrier around myself to protect me from his cruel words.

But every happy moment comes to an end, and for me, it came far too soon.

I yawned and stretched in the nest I shared with my mother and brother, careful not to disturb their peaceful slumber. Despite the moss only being shared by one full-grown cat and two half-grown ones, it was quite a tight sqeeze. But I enjoyed it, the softness of their pelts against mine and coziness comforting me in a way that I didn't allow to show. I had learned to barely show any emotion, except for around Shadekit and Applefur, because Sycamorekit would see that as a weakness. I padded drowsily to the nursery enterance, my long, sleek tail low to the ground. The serene quietness of the world at the moment had lulled me, making me forget to see if Sycamorekit was already awake. But it didn't really matter once I stepped out from the shelter of the bramble den, for his sneering voice had already reached my large ears.

"You see? She even has the laziness of kittypet!" Sycamorekit yelled, directing his voice both at me and the two only apprentices in the clan. Sparrowpaw was shaking his head in diapproval, while Mistpaw glanced at me, obvious sympathy in her pale blue eyes. I just rolled my eyes, pushing past Sycamorekit to sit by the spiky-furred she-cat and her brother.

"Sycamorekit really needs to be taught a lesson. At first I thought he was just messing around with you when he insulted you, but now I realize it's far more that that." Sparrowpaw murmered, dipping his head to me.

"He's just a bully. A stupid, immature bully who has absolutely no right to be ruining your life like this" Mistpaw, along with Shadekit, was the only one who really knew how much those insults hurt me. Every one was like a paw scoring its claws down my heart.

"I can only hope that after he's been an apprentice for a while, he'll finally grow up and realize what he's doing." I said, staring at my paws.

"I hope he gets Scorchfur as mentor, that'll straighten him out." Sparrowpaw mewed, chuckling was one of the strictest warriors in the clan, and while he was loyal and a great fighter, he had little to no tolerance for immature kits.

"Let all the skilled cats of ShadowClan gather beneath the Great Tree to hear my words." Rowanstar's voice rang out across the clearing, stopping the young cats' conversation.

"I wonder what this is about." I mumbled under my breath, staring at the ginger tom that stood on one the branches that hung over the camp as the clan gathered. A few moments of silence hung in the air as the cats waited for their leader to speak.

"Sycamorekit, please step forward." My eyes widened in shock, and a bit of anger, as I realized what was happening. The dusky brown tabby stepped forward proudly, chest puffed out and fur neatly groomed into a shiny sleekness. His amber eyes shone with excitement and joy, and just underneath that I could detect arrogance.

"Sycamorekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for your apprenticeship. From this on, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Sycamorepaw. I have chosen Scorchfur to mentor you, as he is ready to take on an apprentice. I hope that he will pass down all he knows onto you." The look on Sycamorepaw's face as his mentor was named was almost worth all the taunting and teasing. Finally, he would learn to grow up, and some respect for his clanmates as well.

"Sycamorepaw! Sycamorepaw!" The clan cheered the new apprentice's name. I noticed that Sparrowpaw and Mistpaw's voices were weak, as if they were only cheering because they had to. I didn't care, however, what the clan would think of me. So I remained silent, glaring daggers at the tom himself. He seemed to raise his chin a little higher as he saw this, his lips twitching up in a crooked smile that was more like a sneer, challenge alighting in his cold fiery gaze. I remained still, knowing that I didn't need to prove myself to him, for he was less than dirt beneath my paws. And that's exactly what I thought as I un-sheathed my claws and scored a deep mark in the ground, imagining that the hard-packed earth was Sycamorepaw's own pelt.

**Stonekit's POV:**

"You see, Stonefur was a noble a loyal warrior, not only loyal to RiverClan, but to his clanmates as well." I recalled Mosspelt's words as I sat with Splashkit, watching Tidekit and Lakekit play-fight. They tumbled and rolled across the clearing, soft paws battering and tiny claws grazing fur.

"Watch out!" Willowshine yelled at the kits, who had to gotten a little too close tto the pile of fragrant herbs she was stopped fighting and mumbled a 'sorry' to the Medicine Cat, Lakekit tackling her just as the words left her mouth. The pale gray tom drove her back with flailing paws, while she squeaked with protest, inching backwards while she ducked and dodged. Lakekit had pushed her back pretty far before she finally spotted an opening and reared up on her striped back legs, batting at his ears with tiny, delicate silvery paws. Although Tidekit had managed to gian some ground forward, she was still no match for brother, who was much larger and stronger. He let out a playful growl and rammed forawrd, pushing her backwards with his already broad shoulders. Tidekit squeaked in surprise as she slipped on the slippery pebbles on the bank of stream, tumbling backwards into the water. I leapt onto my paws and started to race towards the water, but was interupted by my sister.

"I'm fine!" Tidekit stood up and shook her wet fur, shivering from the cold water. I let out a sigh of relief, but the comfort that she was safe was short-lived when I saw a piece of driftwood floating in the current towards her. It was too late to warn her, for the second I opened my mouth, the smooth wood knocked into her, sending the small silver tabby under the water. Tidekit resurfaced a couple tail-lengths downstream, the water seemed much deeper there and it lapped at her muzzle. She seemed winded, perhaps she had his her head when she went under, and soon lost her footing against the strong current. Her forepaws shot out and wrapped around a tall, thin rock that poked out of the stream just in time to not be swept away into the lake.

"Tidekit! Hold on!" I ran over to the bank as fast as I could, stretching my neck over the fast-flowing water in an attempt to grab my sister's scruff. I couldn't reach her, and had to take a few steps into the water before trying again. It still wasn't enough, and even with my entire body stretched forward till my muscles ached and shrieked with pain, she was still a mouse-length away.

"Bite my tail, and whatever you do, don't let go." I instructed Lakekit, waving my fluffy tail in front of him. The pale gray tom closed his teeth down hard on the tip, sending a wave of pain through my entire body. I ignored it though, and continued to step out farther into the current, with Lakekit following until I could reach the sodden scrap of beautiful tabby-striped silver fur that still clung desperately to the rock. I could tell she was getting tired, the effect of hitting her head weighing down on her, and as I fastened my teeth in her scruff her tiny paws lost their grip on the stone. Tidekit's body was like a deadweight, and the effort that it took to keep my grip on the pebbley bottom of the stream was worsened. I could feel Lakekit starting slip as well, his teeth starting to loosen before biting back again even harder than before. Excruciating pain washed over me like a dark wave as I slipped on the smooth pebbles, the only thing that kept me and my unconcious sister from being swept downstream was Lakekit's tight hold on my tail, that was until I faintly heard the sound of ripping flesh over the feeling of water filling my ears. I barely had time to register my iminent death before my head hit a large stone on the bottom of the stream, the movement of the cold water lulling me in my last few moments as my vision started to go black.

I woke up a grassy clearing, with lush, green trees that were widely spaced. Water burbled out of a large rock, forming a wide, shallow, slow-moving stream with such clear water that I could easily see minnows swimming around in it even from across the clearing. The stream curved around the grassy space halfway before disppearing into the green ferns and bushes. _I must be in StarClan,_ I thought, feeling a pang of sadness and longing in my heart as I remembered my family and Clan.

_No real place could be so ambroisal and perfect._

"Hello?" I called out tentatively, my voice raw as if I hadn't used it in a long time.

"Greetings, Stonekit." A deep voice spoke from across the clearing and I turned to see a handsome, broad-shouldered gray tom pad out from behind a rich green bush dotted with dark azure berries. He walked slowly towards me, muscles rippling under his fluffy stone-colored pelt. The strange tom sat down a few tail-lengths in front of me, wisdom shining bright in his blue eyes.

"Who are you? Why am I here? Am I dead?" I bombarded him with questions, a bit worried that I had died and would never see my brother, sisters, or mother again, never earn my warrior name, never get to fight in my first battle. Never get to prove my loyalty to RiverClan. The gray tom purred in amusement, a small chuckle rising in his chest.

"Such a curious kit. You're acting just like you did when you first arrived in RiverClan." He laughed again before continuing.

"My name is Stonefur. And do not fret, you are not dead, but you got close enough." My eyes widened and I couldn't help but stare at Stonefur, my fur pricking up in excitement.

"You're Stonefur!" I said it as more of a statement than a question, scampering over to the muscular gray warrior that I had admired ever since Mosspelt first told me about him. Stonefur's broad head tilted down towards me, a wide smile across his lips.

"Well, it's nice to see that you're excited about meeting me, but I must go now, and you must return back to your Clanmates." Stonefur rested his chin on my forehead before padding backwards away from me. I remembered that my second question hadn't been answered and quickly bounded forward.

"Wait! Why am I here if I'm not dead!?" But it was too late, the noble gray warrior, along with my surroundings, was starting to fade away until I couldn't see anything but darkness.

When I opened my eyes again I was in the Medicine Cat den, the overhanging thorn bush giving away the location. My vision was blurry, but I still reconized the lovely blue-striped silver fur curled up, asleep, in a nest close to mine. _Good. Tidekit's safe and alive._ I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't realize was bottled up inside my chest. The next thing I saw was a black warrior that I guessed to be Reedwhisker along with a few other warriors being treated by Mothwing and Willowshine.

"Tidekit!" I whispered, wondering if she was awake and flicking my tail in her direction. This small movement caused a horrible burning agony to register in my tail and I let out a small scream of pain. Apparently that caught the attention of Willowshine, as she had darted over to my side quickly.

"Oh, you poor little scrap." The dark gray tabby she-cat murmered sympathetically, gently pressing her slender muzzle to my cheek, a carress so soft that it seemed to lessen the hurt in my tail.

"What happened to my tail?" I mumbled drowsily as Willowshine gave me a small poppy seed and I lapped it up gratefully.

"Well, you see, when you slipped and Lakeit was biting your tail, the weight of you and Tidekit and teh force of the current caused the tip of your tail to rip off."

**A/N: Ha! I bet you thought Stonekit had died! But don't worry, I'm not going to allow a major character to die only four chapters into the story, now am I?**

**Feel free to follow, favorite, or review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N:**

**Sorry about another late update! **

**And I got another review! It seems like I'm still getting one review per chapter. I'd like to get more, so if you want to comment or critique me on **_**anything**_**, feel free to do so!**

**I do realize that Rainkit and Bluekit's POVs are a bit boring, but they're still kits and it's a bit hard to make things interesting when they're at this age. Bluekit is actually the main protoganist in this story, and soon her chapters will be plenty interesting.**

**On another note, I finally got a cover for this story! It's honestly quite bad, but I'm not exactly a person who can draw digitally. I'm pretty good at drawing traditionally, though. I would have drawn the cover with a pencil, but I don't have a scanner and the quality of it would be horrible.**

**Anyways, enough with my ramblings, and onto the story!**

**Bluekit's POV:**

I was awoken from my light slumber by the sound of rustling leaves, of brambles softly grazing fur. I groggily raised my head, slowly blinking the sleep from my eyes, and saw a large black shape nimbly stepping across the nursery toward me. Instinctively I opened my mouth to scream, thinking that a warrior from an enemy clan had snuck into the camp, before I recognized my old denmate. Darkpaw had grown quite a lot during the past moon, he was nearly as big as his mentor, Brackenfur, now and sometimes I could barely recognize him. His brilliant blue eyes seemed to notice the fear in my own green ones, and his face grew sympathetic.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" He whispered, voice slightly muffled by something I couldn't make out in the gloomy light of the nursery. I shrugged in response as Dovewing began to stir, opening her jaws wide in a loud yawn.

"Here, I thought you all might be hungry." Darkpaw dropped something at my mother's paws, who purred and gently nudged Stormkit and Streamkit awake. I stepped out of the nest and over to Darkpaw. Three dead mice seemed to stare up at me as I stood over them, my mouth watering. Dovewing gently scooped one up in her jaws and placed it on my feet, the fresh-kill was still warm and, well, fresh. I struggled to drag it along as I brought it over to a drowsy Stormkit, who was prodding Streamkit in the side with a paw. The pale tabby seemed determined to get more sleep, burying her face deep in the moss and covering her ears with her small paws.

"Streamkit, wake up!" An impatient Stormkit jabbed her in the ribs again, more sharply this time.

"Mowe sweep." She grumbled, reaching up with a paw to sleepily whack her brother in the face before settling on top of her ear again. I quietly laughed and dragged the mouse closer, motioning towards it with my tail. Stormkit seemed to get the idea and helped my lift it off the ground, dropping it right onto Streamkit's sleeping body. She screamed and started to struggle underneath it, tearing up the moss around her with wildly flailing paws. Now I was practically screaming, unable to contain the laughter because the sight before me was honestly too hilarious. I rolled on the ground, laughs still erupting from me, with a smiling Darkpaw glancing amusedly at me. My laughter soon came to a halt when a long, low moan filled the air and the nursery. I looked over at the other side of the den, where a tortoiseshell shape was curled up in a nest. Blossomfall was heavily pregnant with Thornclaw's kits, and had started sleeping in the nursery not too long ago. Another moan escaped her and I gently bounded over to the she-cat's side to see her eyes wide and glazed with pain.

"I think Blossomfall's having her kits!" I yelled over my shoulder.

"I'll go get Jayfeather..." Darkpaw whipped around and quickly exited the den. I glanced at Blossomfall, sympathy in my gaze, before I padded back over to my nest. A few moments passed before the medicine cat entered the den, whisking straight to Blossomfall without saying a word. He gently placed a paw on the tortoiseshell's stomach, grumbling under his breath as he reached for a few leaves at his side.

"Eat these." He placed them next to Blossomfall's head, who obeyed and quickly swallowed them. Within seconds she was shrieking and I buried my head in the moss of my nest, the sound of the screams piercing my heart like a thorn. Dovewing ushered Stormkit and Streamkit out of the nursery, gently picking me up by the scruff and carrying me out. I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the sharp screams of pain emanating from the bramble den.

When I finally opened my eyes, I could feel soft, downy fur curled around me and a rough tongue gently rasping over my ears.

"She's awake!" A loud, high-pitched voice snapped me out of my comforting, slow trance and I raised my head to see Streamkit smiling at me. I looked up and saw the gentle face of my mother staring down at me, a light purr rising in her throat.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, giving my ears a final comforting lick.

"The screams... They hurt my heart." My voice cracked, remembering those painful shrieks that made me want to cry every time I heard them.

"It'll be okay, it's over now, the screams are gone." Dovewing spoke in a gentle, reassuring tone.

"We can go back to the nursery now and see your new denmates. Would you like that?" She contined to speak in that motherly, almost purr-like tone, and I nodded eagerly, excited to see the new kits. I jumped up on slightly shaky paws and ran after my siblings, with Dovewing following at a slower pace. Thorns grazed my fur as I burst through the nursery enterance, my chest heaving. I quietly padded over to where a tired Blossomfall lay in a nest, her eyes half-closed with stood protectively by her side, his amber eyes glowing with pride as he gazed down at the three kits suckling at his mate's belly. My eyes grew wide as I saw how little they were, tiny paws battering at their mother's stomach. The largest of the three had thin, short creamy fur that was wildly striped with an off-white color. One of them had a gray pelt so dark it was like the night sky, little black dots that were scarcely visible scattered across the soft aphotic fur. The last one was smaller, and had a brown tabby pelt that was splotched with large patches of ginger with a faint locket of white fur on their chest and tail-tip. I assumed that two were she-cats, the cream one a tom, but wasn't entirely sure.

"What are their names?" Stormkit asked, his broad head tipped slightly to the side.

"This is Leopardkit and Maplekit." Thornclaw pointed towards the dark gray one first, then to the brown tabby.

"And this is the only tom, Wildkit." He said proudly as he gently touched the cream tabby's head with his nose. I nodded and left the nursery with Dovewing, knowing that more cats would want to see the new kits. The air outside was warm, and their was a slight breeze in the air. The trees tha ringed the hollow cast a light shadow over the camp, their branches dappling my pelt and letting little shafts of sunlight through to warm the hard-packed earth. A hunting patrol consisting of Sorreltail, Moleclaw, Spiderleg, and Toadstep entered the camp, their jaws full of prey. As they walked closer I realized that Sorreltail only had a single, silver and black, thing in her mouth, and that it was _moving_. She gently placed it down in the center of the clearing, and I padded closer to get a better look. It turned out to be a kit, skinny and shivering as if their pelt was so thin that it couldn't keep them warm. It had a strange scent that definetly wasn't ThunderClan, but I couldn't pinpoint to any Clan. Even I had never scented it myself, Dovewing had described each of the four Clans' distinct scents; RiverClan had a fishy smell that wasn't very pleasant at first but you get used to it after a few gatherings, WindClan smelt of the peaty moors and heather, and ShadowClan cats carried the sharp, tangy scent of fragrant pine needles. Yet this kit had an odor completely different, and I figured it was probably a loner that was abandoned by its mother.

_Just like I was._ I thought, thinking that I wasn't that much different from the shaking scrap of dappled fur that lay in front of me. The kit opened its gray eyes, and I was shocked to see how dull and lifeless they were. It seemed like this kit was almost dead.

"Where am I?" The kit asked, her voice suprisingly strong and filled with panic.

"You're in ThunderClan, little kit. Can you tell me your name?" Dovewing spoke from behind me in the same soft voice as before, taking a small step towards the kit as she did so.

"I-I don't kn-" The kit's speech was cut off by a horrible cough that left her trembling afterwards.

"You're ill. I'm taking you to Jayfeather." Dovewing picked up the kit by her scruff as gently as possible before briskly walking to the medicine cat's den.

"Wait! We don't know if Bramblestar will allow her to stay in ThunderClan!" Moleclaw suddenly called, taking a few steps forward as if he was going to block the pale gray queen's path.

"And do you think he won't? We're not going to leave a helpless kit to fend for itself, especially a sick one!" Sorreltail rounded on the younger warrior, her lips curled into a snarl and amber eyes blazing. Moleclaw was trembling and took a step back, guiltily nodding his head before turning and padding into the warriors' den.

**Rainkit's POV:**

"Rainkit, could you bring those cobwebs over there?" Kestrelflight called, jerking his mottled head towards a carefully placed pile of silky webs. I nodded and walked over to the cobwebs and wrapped one around a small brown paw, then continued on my way towards the medicine cat. A loud yell made me flinch, and my heart started to beat rapidly, feeling like it would burst out of my chest, before I realized that the shriek was out of joy instead of fear. I looked over in the general direction of the noise and saw Crowfeather crouched down next to Moorkit and Pebblekit.

"WindClan cats usually don't sneak up on their prey, and we don't need to, either. But, occasionally we make use of hte small amount of cover on the moors." Crowfeather explained, reaching out a dark paw to nudge Moorkit and adjust his crouch.

"Now, can you tell me why we would even need to do this if we can run faster than the rabbits?" He prompted, standing up from his crouch and stretching his long limbs. I started to ponder over this, even though I wasn't asked. Why would we need to be stealthy when hunting rabbits? It's not like we have to worry about scaring other rabbits. They usually aren't in groups, anyways. _Wait! That's it!_ I excitedly bounded over to Crowfeather, careful not to scuff the paw with the cobwebs.

"I know why! If the rabbits are in a group, we can't just run at them, they'll just scatter. If multiple cats sneak up and surround them they can't run away! We can get multiple rabbits at the same time!" I said excitedly, bouncing up and down on my paws, my dappled tail waving straight up in the air. Crowfeather started at me, the shock plain on his face, as if he didn't expect that answer, especially from me.

"I never actually thought of that before, but it could work. I'll mention it to Onestar. Do you know the other reason why?" I smiled even wider at the Deputy's praise and started to think.

"Don't we have a bit of woodland in our territory? We would need to be like ThunderClan cats and-"

"Shouldn't you be helping Kestrelflight?" Moorkit interupted, sending a pointed glance at me that seemed to burn with the coldness of ice. I flattened my ears and looked down at my shuffling paws, hurt by my brother's comment.

"She's not a Medicine cat apprentice yet!" Pebblekit snapped, sending a pointed glance at Moorkit, who glared defiantly back right at him. Pebblekit padded to my side and stood there defensively, as if he were trying to protect me.

"No, he's right. I'll just go now." My voice was quiet as I stood and started towards where Kestrelflight and Sunstrike were waiting expectantly. I peeled off the cobwebs from my paw and handed them to the Medicine cat. He licked Sunstrike's paw before gripping his front teeth around the base of a large thorn, giving a sharp tug before he pulled the thorn out. Blood welled from the she-cat's paw, a lot more than what seemed to be normal. Sunstrike winced as Kestrelflight cleaned the wound and put a poultice of horsetail on the wound, carefully wrapping her white paw in sticky cobwebs.

"Your pads look like they're been rubbed raw. That must have been why there was so much blood." Kestrelflight commented, looking at the tortoiseshell she-cat questioningly.

"Well, they did feel a little sore..." Sunstrike broke off, looking down nervously.

"Why didn't you come to me? And why were your paws so raw in the first place?" The medicine cat stared at her seriously.

"I hunted a bit too much, that's all."

"Than you must have been hunting a lot, I've never seen a cat's paws get so sore from just _hunting_." Kestrelflight pointed out.

"It's just nobody trusts me anymore!" Sunstrike suddenly blurted out.

"Ever since the Dark Forest battle, nobody thinks I'm loyal to WindClan. I feel like I have to hunt so much in order for even my littermates to trust me." She sighed and lowered her head shamefully.

"Oh, Sunstrike, you chose to fight for your Clan in the end, isn't that all that really matters?" Kestrelflight murmered, pressing his nose to the tortoiseshell's chest fur briefly before pulling away. Sunstrike sighed and padded away to the fresh-kill pile, where she chose a small mouse and gobbled it down hungrily. I looked at Kestrelflight quizically, confused as to what their conversation had been about.

"You know about the battle with the Dark Forest, right?" The medicine cat asked me, laying down and flicking his white-splotched tail back and forth contentedly. I nodded in reply and sat down, wrapping my thick dappled tail around my small brown paws.

"You see, before the battle, the Dark Forest cats recruited living clan cats and trained them in their dreams." Kestrelflight began.

"Sunstrike was one of those cats." He continued.

"But why would she do that! Why would any of the Clan cats do that?" I interjected, jumping to my paws, my tail bushed out and the fur along my spine bristling. Kestrelflight shook his head amusedly as I sat back down.

"You didn't let me finish. The Clan cats that were recruited were told that they were being taught how to be better warriors. How to be protect their Clans better. This was not true. The cats were being trained to be Dark Forest warriors, to be used as eyes on the inside. Only when the battle had arrived did the Clan cats know this. Most betrayed the Dark Forest and fought for the Clans, but a few remained loyal to the Place of No Stars." He finished the story with a sweep of his tail.


End file.
